Taiwan's National Symphony Orchestra (NSO, also known as Taiwan Philharmonic) will be offering three high-quality concerts in 4K over the web respectively on May 24, May 30, and June 12.
Conducted by NSO Director Lu Shao-chia (呂紹嘉), the third concert on June 12 is titled "Absolute Beethoven" and will feature Ludwig van Beethoven's "Symphony No.5 in C minor, Op.67" and "Symphony No.7 in A major, Op.92."
Today, with countless performances of the Fifth behind us, it is all too easy to forget just what a forward-looking and "modern" work it really was back in 1808. For starters, there was not a single tune that could be hummed in the opening movement; instead, an intense, concentrated onslaught of a four-note rhythmic cell unfolded with unparalleled energy, leaving the audience gasping under its emotional impact. As Sir George Grove described it, Beethoven "introduced a new physiognomy into the world of music."
For sheer visceral excitement, there are few works in the orchestral repertory to match Beethoven's Seventh Symphony. But unlike the Sixth Symphony, in which the composer had deliberately incorporated the expression of feelings of nature, Beethoven attached no "meanings" to the Seventh beyond the sounds themselves. Wagner accurately described the essence of the music by dubbing it "the Apotheosis of the Dance."
Download the program notes by Robert Markow here.
Jointly presented by the Taipei-based National Theater Concert Hall and Taiwan Public Television Service, the "Absolute Beethoven" online concert will go live on June 12 at 7.30am Eastern Standard Time, or 7.30pm Taiwan Standard Time, on YouTube and PTS Plus+.
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